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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. − No one was sitting down and Legacy Arena was filled with fans waiting to see who would head to the Final Four in the Elite Eight game between No. 1 seed South Carolina women's basketball (34-3) and No. 2 Duke (29-8).
After an offensive foul on South Carolina's Bree Hall, it was down to just 29 seconds of defense for Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley's starters to keep the dream of defending its national title alive, gripping a two-point lead tightly.
Raven Johnson, South Carolina's star defender, was on Duke's 3-point shooter Ashlon Jackson, who had hit two already. With seven seconds left Johnson switched on the screen, putting Sania Feagin in charge of defending the shot.
"Please don't go in, please don't go in," Feagin said she thought.
The 6-foot-3 forward stretched vertically, avoiding a foul, and Jackson's stepback heave fell short for an airball.
The defensive plan all along was to switch, which meant the entire team and Staley all relied on Feagin in that moment. The season depended on her ability to contest the shot cleanly.
With the 54-50 win, the Gamecocks are headed to their fifth straight Final Four. Feagin finished with 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds, along with three assists, two blocks and three steals.
"Her growth, her maturation process has just been on an upward trajectory," Staley said. "I've always said she was the most talented big. Whatever big that was on our roster, she was the most talented as far as being able to make moves and understand the game and communicate the game. To see her just out there performing like a senior, that's what you want."
After leading by 11 points in the second quarter, there was a five-minute long scoring drought from South Carolina that set up a back-and-forth game for the second half. The Blue Devils were furious on the glass, grabbing 19 offensive rebounds and scoring 12 second-chance points.
But Feagin backed down Duke's post players in dominant fashion, creating opportunities for herself and teammates. In the fourth quarter, she scored four points, had three rebounds and both an assist and steal as South Carolina surged.
Chloe Kitts missed two free throws with 47 seconds left in the third quarter down four, but she had a second chance on a bigger stage.
Kitts was fouled with five seconds left, South Carolina up 52-50. She locked eyes with Feagin, who signaled for Kitts to take a big deep breath before stepping to the line, with every eye in the arena focused on her.
She exhaled. Swish, swish.
"Sania, her leadership means so much," Kitts said.
As the team began to huddle around Kitts, smiles grew wider and eyes got bigger. Celebrations were forming before Feagin said, "It's not over, it's not over."
"I stayed disciplined," Feagin said. "We're used to being up but we weren't up that much ... don't get too high with the highs and too low with the lows. Realize there's five seconds left, a lot of time on the clock and stay ready for anything."
South Carolina forced yet another turnover in those final seconds. The ball landed in Feagin's hands, and she could finally celebrate. It was over.
We get to lean on her for hopefully two more games, and that entire class will leave here as the most decorated, if they can get another championship," Staley said.
DAWN ON FINAL FOUR: Everything Dawn Staley said after South Carolina beat Duke about Final Four, the 'grind for every single win'
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at [email protected] and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina: Sania Feagin makes huge defensive play to stop Duke
Continue reading...
After an offensive foul on South Carolina's Bree Hall, it was down to just 29 seconds of defense for Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley's starters to keep the dream of defending its national title alive, gripping a two-point lead tightly.
Raven Johnson, South Carolina's star defender, was on Duke's 3-point shooter Ashlon Jackson, who had hit two already. With seven seconds left Johnson switched on the screen, putting Sania Feagin in charge of defending the shot.
"Please don't go in, please don't go in," Feagin said she thought.
The 6-foot-3 forward stretched vertically, avoiding a foul, and Jackson's stepback heave fell short for an airball.
The defensive plan all along was to switch, which meant the entire team and Staley all relied on Feagin in that moment. The season depended on her ability to contest the shot cleanly.
With the 54-50 win, the Gamecocks are headed to their fifth straight Final Four. Feagin finished with 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds, along with three assists, two blocks and three steals.
"Her growth, her maturation process has just been on an upward trajectory," Staley said. "I've always said she was the most talented big. Whatever big that was on our roster, she was the most talented as far as being able to make moves and understand the game and communicate the game. To see her just out there performing like a senior, that's what you want."
After leading by 11 points in the second quarter, there was a five-minute long scoring drought from South Carolina that set up a back-and-forth game for the second half. The Blue Devils were furious on the glass, grabbing 19 offensive rebounds and scoring 12 second-chance points.
But Feagin backed down Duke's post players in dominant fashion, creating opportunities for herself and teammates. In the fourth quarter, she scored four points, had three rebounds and both an assist and steal as South Carolina surged.
Chloe Kitts missed two free throws with 47 seconds left in the third quarter down four, but she had a second chance on a bigger stage.
Kitts was fouled with five seconds left, South Carolina up 52-50. She locked eyes with Feagin, who signaled for Kitts to take a big deep breath before stepping to the line, with every eye in the arena focused on her.
She exhaled. Swish, swish.
"Sania, her leadership means so much," Kitts said.
As the team began to huddle around Kitts, smiles grew wider and eyes got bigger. Celebrations were forming before Feagin said, "It's not over, it's not over."
"I stayed disciplined," Feagin said. "We're used to being up but we weren't up that much ... don't get too high with the highs and too low with the lows. Realize there's five seconds left, a lot of time on the clock and stay ready for anything."
South Carolina forced yet another turnover in those final seconds. The ball landed in Feagin's hands, and she could finally celebrate. It was over.
We get to lean on her for hopefully two more games, and that entire class will leave here as the most decorated, if they can get another championship," Staley said.
DAWN ON FINAL FOUR: Everything Dawn Staley said after South Carolina beat Duke about Final Four, the 'grind for every single win'
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at [email protected] and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina: Sania Feagin makes huge defensive play to stop Duke
Continue reading...
